FULLY UNCUT (134 MINUTES!)
25 MINUTES LONGER THAN 'FORBIDDEN KINGDOM' VERSION
ORIGINAL RUSSIAN LANGUAGE WITH ENGLISH SUBTITLES

        

also known as FORBIDDEN KINGDOM (edited International version, released as 111 minutes)
also known as NIKOLAI GOGOL's VIY and THE LEGEND OF VIY

director: Oleg Stepchenko
starring Jason Flemyng (as Dzheyson Fleming) · Andrey Smolyakov · Emma Cerna · Charles Dance · Aleksabdr Yakovlev

      

Based on a fantasy by Nikolai Gogol (also the inspiration for Mario Bava's BLACK SUNDAY (Mask of Satan) which was - originally - inspired by a Ukraine legend, this is the story of 18th century British explorer Jonathan Green who attempts to prove 'worthiness' to stern Lord Dadli in hope of wedding his daughter. So, off goes Jonathan Green to chart the wilds of the East, namely remote Russia, Ukraine and Transylvania. His travels take him to a dark Slavic region where the villages are engulfed in fundamental religious mayhem and deadly creatures under control of the beautiful living dead 'vampire' known as Viy.

This was a massive Russian/Ukrainian co-production that took a decade to produce. Production started in 2004 with a target release of March 2009 to commemorate the birth of Nikolai Gogol [March 31 1809]. They missed that date by five years! But once the movie opened (in 2014), it became the top grossing film of all time in Russia. Success opened doors for an International release, but the new distributor felt the movie ran too long and so they cut out 30 minutes, followed by a decision to dub the whole thing into English. And - of course - they changed the title to Forbidden Kingdom.

The International release made its debut at Cannes in 2015 [followed by wide distribution through Universal Studios]. But, while most everyone raved about the incredible visuals, critics and audiences complained about "confusion with the story" and especially "the absurd, stilted English dubbing" [two factors that seemed to keep the film from International notoriety].

Now, here is the fully uncut version in the original Russian language with English subtitles. And what a marvel this is! You will see things that you've never seen in any horror or fantasy film before. As critic Thomas T. Sueyres writes: "Absolutely stunning horror sequences echoing creatures from Lovecraftian nightmares. Jonathan Green watches in horror as the villagers in the local tavern transform into indescribably hellish creatures. This sequence blends the use of practical make-up effects with CG in a way that most fans of fantastic cinema only dream of. It is a taste of what THE THING (2011) could have and should have been." Watch this movie. You won't be disappointed.